2 Sept 2020

The Quietus reviews Autotelia's album


They say:

Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, Martin Fry of ABC said that David Bowie's Blackstar resembled a special kind of double album. There was the first one we experienced on Friday 8 January and were able to enjoy in blissful ignorance over the weekend: a spectacular rejuvenation on which Bowie sounded more fired-up than he had in decades. The prodigal Duke returns! Then there was the album we heard after learning of Bowie's death a couple of days later which, as Fry put it, "was his tombstone".

Autotelia is the joint project of The Oscillation's Demian Castellanos and Tom Relleen (also of Tomaga). Their debut album, I, was released at the end of July and judging by its title it should have been the first of many. A few days ago it was announced that Relleen had passed away after receiving a cancer diagnosis back in March. Presumably the album was cooked up before then, so perhaps the Blackstar comparison is moot. Even so, the experience of listening to Autotelia's debut has suddenly become a far more upsetting one.


Although the record is a gently unfolding blanket of sound, there is a vibrant effervescence to Autotelia's kosmische sound-shapes. The suite-like instrumentals will wrap themselves around you, inspiring deep-thought relaxation, without boring anybody's pants off. Furthermore, each of the five tracks has its own distinct flavour.

Read the rest here: The Quietus

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